Diary: when will there be justice for Sir Hayden?

‘The rural tranquillity of “Sir Vidya” Naipaul may be disturbed by the publication of Hanif Kureishi's new novel. The plot revolves around an ageing writer whose inner secrets are revealed by his biographer.’ Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Guardian Murdo Macleod/Guardian

• Has the time come for super-smooth ex-Whitehall mandarin, Sir Hayden Phillips CB, KCB, GCB, to finally secure the peerage that cruelly eludes him? This week the favoured protege of Lord Jenkins – the ultimate smoothie – pops up as chair of appointments at Ipso, Fleet Street's outlaw response to the Leveson reforms. The job follows his doomed, decade-long efforts to square another impossible circle, the funding of political parties. That was preceded by a review of the honours system (also doomed). A man of many grand hats, he chaired the National Theatre until 2010. There is also Marlborough College, Princess Kate's alma mater, which is holding up quite well under his stewardship, despite the occasional controversy on his watch. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, but has Fleet Street picked the right one?

• A taste of things to come for Lorely Burt, the MP for Solihull, who seems poised to become the new Lib Dem deputy leader. She already has the backing of 24 of the 56 Lib Dem MPs. With five more, the vote itself would seem moot. "With me as deputy leader, local people would have a stronger voice than ever. They'd know that if they told me about a problem on their doorstep on Friday, I'd be knocking on doors about it at the highest levels of government on Monday," she says. But she may need to think again. "If someone brings you a problem on Friday – why not act on it on Friday? Why wait three days," demands activist John Tilley. Good luck, Lorely. This is your new world.

• A new spin doctor for the minister for bin collections, Eric Pickles. And the first thing one feels moved to do is to congratulate political scribe Kirsty Buchanan for a move that allows her to escape the Sunday Express. It will be a challenge adding sheen and shine to Pickles's reputation. But a look at the cuttings shows her experience in that area. There was July 2010 – "Eric Pickles: 'I'll ditch nanny state and the PC nonsense' … communities secretary Eric Pickles is a man in a hurry". October 2011 – "Tory conference: Eric Pickles leads clarion call to arms as voters give Cameron thumbs down". And just last August – "Eric Pickles will fight Public Commercial Services union in the high court". Whether he's taking on the bin bullies or the town hall parking Stasi, Pickles is not a man to shy away from a fight. Right line, right tone. She'll be fine.

• Much disquiet, meanwhile, in deepest Wiltshire, where the greatest living West Indian novelist VS "Sir Vidya" Naipaul resides in much postcolonial splendour. Naipaul in his senior years has become more English than the English. But the rural tranquillity may be disturbed by the publication in February of the novel The Last Word, by Hanif Kureishi. The plot revolves around an ageing writer whose inner secrets are revealed by his biographer. Who can forget Patrick French's authorised warts and all biography of Naipaul, The World Is What It Is, back in 2008? That revealed the not so nice side of the Trinidadian-born Nobel prizewinner, with tales of cruelty and infidelity in his first marriage. His first wife, Patricia, died of cancer, her battle undermined by his revelations that he had used prostitutes. "It could be said that I killed her," he told his biographer. Can Kureishi's fiction be any more sensational?

• Finally, though campaigners accept they face a difficult task to have General Kitchener removed from the new £2 coin and replaced with the heroic first world war nurse Edith Cavell, her deeds have been suitably recognised in many other spheres. This includes the naming of roads, hospitals, schools and other institutions in Britain, Australia, France, Belgium, Portugal, India and Argentina. The first big commemoration was in Canada where a mountain near Jasper, in western Alberta, was named after Cavell in 1916, a year after her execution by the Germans. Those were the days when colonial authorities could act faster than the Bank of England, and Canadians were quicker than most to do right by Edith, who treated the injured from all sides and helped 200 soldiers escape German occupation. The Canadian who now runs the Bank of England might take note.